What you see and hear depends a good deal on where you are standing; it also depends on what sort of person you are.” ~ C.S. LEWIS, The Magician’s Nephew (source)

Ice... The End of Winter 2012

Perception does count and it will influence all the decisions you make with regards to composition and process. It is strongly influenced by physiology, culture, political environment, upbringing, and religious belief. I do not know if it is enough to just be aware of it, more likely, it needs to be understood by the artist and how it impacts you and how it reveals itself in your art. Once understood, it is a powerful tool to communicate your ideas, emotions, and thoughts.

There is currently a great series of articles call, Illusion Fridays, in the New Scientist Magazine. Enjoy!

If I could tell you one thing about getting involved in design, it would be to have passion. Have undying, unending passion for what it is you’re doing.” ~ Jon Kolko, director at Frog Design, a global innovation and design firm.

All Good Things Must Come to an End... Not at Surfside.

Finishing up my stay that Surfside, was an enjoyable visit… Played… Meaning, I worked. If you can integrate your work and your passion—it will seem you will never have to work another day in your life. I hope, if I do anything at all in the classroom, I impart that knowledge. Creating a career in the arts isn’t easy but I never considered how hard it was. I just kept going through the doors as they opened. I’ve been lucky because each step along the way I enjoyed thoroughly and because I loved what I was doing I worked hard. Some would say, “You went beyond the call of duty.”

I strongly recommend Steve Jobs’ biography because it demonstrates what passion is all about. It’s not about being focused on notoriety or money. Although, they came to him. It is about doing what you love. If you can’t get fired-up about what you’re doing, ask yourself why and discover what makes you glow. Success will follow.

I appreciate Lauer and Pentak’s approach in their text that covers the basics of design. First, they recognize that design has a universal meaning. It is not limited to “commercial endeavors”, it lays at the center of all human production whether 2D or 3D, whether applied or not, whether executed, or ill conceived. It is designed. To me, it is about planning—without planning the creative energy is lost. An artist/design gets hung-up in the minutia of the moment and fiddling with unimportant trivial elements that may never make it into the final product/work.

In our world brimming with so many distractions, planning will keep the artist on track and finish the work quickly and intelligently. When my students hear me talk about process… Planning is an essential ingredient of the process.